The SEI helps advance software engineering principles and practices and serves as a national resource in software engineering, computer security, and process improvement. The SEI works closely with defense and government organizations, industry, and academia to continually improve software-intensive systems. Its core purpose is to help organizations improve their software engineering capabilities and develop or acquire the right software, defect free, within budget and on time, every time.

Acquisition Organizations and Product Lines

In a commercial context, outsourcing or acquiring part or all of a product line can allow an organization to focus its energy more fully on its core competencies. In addition to better workforce utilization, this approach can also result in lower costs, faster time to market, and higher quality.

In a government context, the general rule is that little in-house development takes place today. Thus, effective acquisition practices are crucial, and acquisitions based on a product line approach can offer significant benefits.

Our products and services can help both government and industry apply effective acquisition and outsourcing practices:

collaborative customer support for specific business needs including launching and planning for a product line approach, developing product line acquisition strategies, and building a business case for product lines

a series of technical notes that provide practical acquisition guidance on product line and architecture analysis technologies